Frenchie Davis Booted from 'American Idol' Without Giving the Audience a Say by David Bloomberg -- 02/12/2003

Frenchie Davis, one of the up-and-coming stars of American Idol 2, has been kicked off the show unceremoniously and without viewers even having a chance to get their say. Why? Because of something she did years ago.

In a shock to fans of American Idol, USA Today yesterday published a story that Frenchie Davis, the already-popular semi-final contestant, has been kicked off of the show and out of the competition. Why? Because, according to the article, "she acknowledged she worked for an adult Web site four years ago." Four years ago?! Who cares? While details are not provided, one has to wonder if it really matters.

Does an American Idol have to be 100% pure? The music-buying public obviously doesn't think so, as we have seen numerous female stars turn from practically virginal to incredibly sexual. Hell, Madonna put out (so to speak) more sex-related items that most adults websites!

Not every "Idol" can be - or perhaps even should be - the picture of innocence. So what if Frenchie did something four years ago? Yes, it would make an appearance on The Smoking Gun's website. Yes, we'd probably write an article about it. But so what? It finally seems to have gotten through Simon's head that talent and voice are more important than weight and a specific "look" - though he still brings it up from time to time. Now are the producers saying that whatever a contestant may have done years ago is more important than talent?

Right now, we don't know much about the situation. We don't know what she did. We don't know why she did it. We don't know why whatever it is she did is worse than Nikki McKibbin having done topless dancing at a strip club. Or, indeed, if it really was worse. If the information about Frenchie had not come out until after she was voted into the top 10, would they have so cavalierly booted her off the show? Or would they have stood by her? The information about Nikki managed to stay hidden just long enough for her to make it through the show, but I suspect producers knew about it before she admitted it publicly. I would take the comparison to Nikki even further in that Nikki made it to the top three. Did I think she deserved to be there? No. But the majority of voters apparently did, and that's what counts.

As I pointed out back when Nikki's past revealed itself, many in the entertainment world started out in rather seedy jobs. Some needed the money. Some needed the, er, exposure. If the American public is concerned about it, let them decide with their votes. If, however, they prefer to vote based on talent rather than what a contestant did years ago, that should be allowed by Fox and the producers.

Many of us were really looking forward to seeing how Frenchie would do in this competition. It's sad to see her eliminated, without even having a chance, for such an unrelated reason.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

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More Details and Reader Feedback on Frenchie's Expulsion by David Bloomberg -- 02/12/2003

More details have come out about what Frenchie did four years ago that eventually led to her dismissal from American Idol. More importantly, fans have been swift to make their reactions known regarding this turn of events.

We should have known it was The Smoking Gun that found out about the past of Frenchie Davis. They have a history of tracking down those tidbits that people would prefer remain hidden. And they did it again, this time causing Fox to unceremoniously boot Frenchie off of the show. Usually, the stories on The Smoking Gun are applauded for knocking some egos down to size. This time, however, the target was somebody well-liked, and the reaction has been rather different.

The Smoking Gun's article cites a source that says Frenchie posed topless and apparently masturbating on a website called "Daddy's Little Girls." It makes me want to wash my keyboard just typing it. But anyway, from what The Smoking Gun says, the site is one of those fake "underage girls" type of sites (one that claims to have underage girls, which would be illegal, so it instead has girls of legal age who are pretending to be underage). The article notes that Frenchie was definitely of age (specifically 18) when her photos were taken, so she did not do anything illegal.

Also according to the site, Frenchie says she posed for the photos because she needed the money to get back into college.

Remember that Nikki McKibbin, last year's third place winner, did a topless strip act in order to pay her bills. This information was apparently known but not publicly revealed until her place in the show was finalized. So apparently it's okay to strip on a regular basis to pay the bills, but not okay to pose for some pictures to get back into college. Fox has a rather strange way of prioritizing things. (Of course, this is the same network who allowed Sarah the bondage queen on Joe Millionaire.)

Response to news of Frenchie's expulsion has drawn immediate ire from fans of American Idol. There is an online petition asking producers to bring her back that, as of 2:00pm Central time, already has over 2400 signatures. E-mail coming in to Foxes On Idol has been consistently angry at the producers for taking this action. One "unhappy loyal fan" wrote, "You have got to be kidding me! No one cares what she used to do as long as she can entertain us now! She was the biggest topic of discussion with all of my friends these last few weeks. We were so excited to see her! Big mistake, Fox! You'll have a lot of unhappy fans with this move." Another noted, "No one is perfect and we can see that through ourselves."

Still another correspondent pointed out, "Everyone has skeletons in their closets and sometimes you have to do what you have to do when you're trying to survive and make it out here in this world. Unfortunately, everyone isn't born with a silver spoon in their mouth, but everyone does have some kind of talent and Frenchie's talent is her singing." And another added that she was doing something positive by going back to college.

Overall, people are simply in disbelief that she would be disqualified for something that happened four years ago and wonder exactly what rule of American Idol she violated.

While I agree completely with those who have signed the petition and e-mailed in their thoughts, I have to say that the chances of Fox reversing themselves on this is somewhere between slim and none. They have already removed her almost completely from their website - I could not find any reference to her other than in the recaps done a couple weeks ago by "The Jaded Journalist." Attempting to get to her contestant page brought up a page that wouldn't load properly.

It will be interesting to see how the show addresses such a high-profile contestant being kicked off the show. Last year, when Delano Cagnolatti was booted for lying about his age, his "confession" and details of how it was discovered were shown on the air. Somehow I rather doubt they will do that with Frenchie. But Frenchie was a main focus early on - it will be just as difficult for them to completely gloss over it.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this situation is addressed. But the fact of the matter remains that one of the potentially biggest stars of this season has been eliminated because of something she did four years ago in order to raise money to get back to college - something that has nothing to do with her ability to sing or to be the American Idol.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of Foxes On Idol, and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by 1045980000 »

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I don't have much time at the moment (you can read about "The food coloring" incident in a later post under Anything and Everything) but I just wanted to say how upset I am about Frenchie not being able to compete. I don't think it's fair at all. She was my favorite choice for the winner. I don't think they have replaced her yet so maybe their is a chance of her coming back. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by 1045980000 »

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I haven't had time to post it yet It was red food coloring and I'm still trying to get it out of the carpet. As soon as the little brat lays down to nap or is busy watching a cartoon I will come back and post under A&E.

« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 06:00:00 PM by 1045980000 »

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We may rise and fall, but in the endWe meet our fate together.....Creed

I saw this on Entertainment Tonight and could not believe it. I too was looking forward to seeing her sing. I liked both Frenchie and Kim. They performed together on one of their auditions and they both sounded great. I am happy there is a petition to try to get her back. I am sure this won't be the last we will hear of this.